Reviews by cgmees:

The Franziscaner Dunkel Weizen pours into the tall glass in typical cloudy weizen style, topping off with an off-white dense head. Aroma is heavy on the banana, a bit spicy cloves and faint caramel. Slightly creamy texture with a slight bit of carbonation. Thin to medium overall. Dry finish. Enjoyed it in the late evening with a cool wind blowing across the deck.

More User Reviews:

Poured a hazy light brown color with big pillowey head,aroma a little spicey and somewhat sweet.taste is a litle tart balanced with some toffee sweetness,a little light in the body but overall pretty drinkable.Not a real big fan of this style but a pretty decent brew.

Appearance  This one was a hazy, dirty brown in color and sported a fluffy, lacing head. The foam had brown streaks in it from the yeast I managed to whip up at the end of the pour.

Smell  The toasted, doughy yeast here was right on the mark and was laden with some good, browned, overripe banana. There was also a strong, dark cherry aroma that I enjoyed.

Taste  Bingo! After two lacking weizens from this brewery, the yeast here roars to life at the taste. It is strong and direct, complimented well with banana and clove. The dark Bing cherries are thick and sugary. Well done.

Mouthfeel  Nice job here as well. This Dunkel Weizen is medium-bodied and spritzy with some good carbonation and tangy yeast.

Drinkability  Superb! This is a rare, lovely import. The strong yeast and darkish fruits make this one a standout and clearing the gem of the Spaten weizens.

Hazy, orange-amber, kind of like a cats eye stone, but kind of dull. Plenty of foamy head that never comes close to fading. The yeast is in the forefront of the aroma, with a subdued creamy banana smell under around hints of sweet German hops.

The taste unfortunately left a bit to be desired. It just seems unnecessarily thin and watery. There's not much malt character, a good hop bite, and some yeast flavors, but in the end you're left with a residual sweetness that isn't even palatable enough to serve as a thirst-quencher.

Freshness may be an issue but a bottling date is nowhere to be found. The bottle is a lighter than normal brown with some greenish tints. I'm not sure the journey west did this one much good.

A: A cloudy light copper beer. The creamy light tan head has an goo retention and leaves some lacing on the glass.

S: Light notes of clove with a light fruitiness and a slight tartness. There is a light melanoidin and crusty bread grain aroma with German malt character along with some wheat malt sweetness. No hops and no diacetyl.

T: Nice, a malty hefe-weissen showing the rich and darker German malt character. There is the melanoidin, crusty bread and wheat malt flavors over a moderately-low hops bitterness. There maybe a moderately-strong spicy hops flavor mixing with the clove phenols from the yeast. The yeast also provides a moderately-low fruit flavors mostly banana. The balance is slightly malty with a slightly sweet finish and quick bitter aftertaste.

M: A moderately-light bodied beer with moderately-high carbonation. There is a crisp quality and no warmth nor astringency.

O: This is a Hefe with moderate dark malt characteristics and a little less clove and banana then a straight Hefe. Spice and fruit still dominate most aspect of the beer.

T&M: Dark looking and light bodied with a complex malty, but clean, flavor profile. The wheat is prominent with an interesting yeasty fruitiness that assists with the impression of light tastes. The carbonation is fine and abundant. The finish is relatively malty but dry going just a touch watery as the linger begins.

D: Refreshing and light and easy to drink. The interesting yeast flavors had me curious for more which let this one do down pretty quickly as well. Interesting and cool. I liked it.

My first Dunkel-Weizen and a good one it was. This beer poured a dark brown color with a very nice head that lasted the whole glass. The smell was typical for a bavarian wheat beer but had a bit more malt presence. The flavor mirrored the smell, with the great bananna and sweet flavors of a traditional hefe but with a bit more malt presence. I can't say if I like this more or less than a traditional Hefe but I can say that it was a damn good beer!

Pours a cloudy dark copper color with a three finger head. Smells of raspberry with a very sweet, malty aroma. The taste is sweet, reminiscent of overripened fruit. A medium body with taste of roasted malt and a light citrus flavor.

Overall a very full flavorful hefeweizen, however I do prefer the regular hefeweizen from this company.

Presentation: It was poured from a 16.9oz brown bottle into a Weizen glass.

Appearance: Its body has a brownish or ice tea color with a cloudy appearance. On top sits a big creamy tan head that has good retention, lasting until the finish after slowly fading to a small cap of foam. Its lacing was slick and slid down the glass as I drank.

Smell: The aroma hits you with a big overripe banana followed by some other fruity and earthy yeast notes with a touch of clove.

Taste/Mouth feel: The flavor starts with a lightly roasted wheat malt base with some fruity banana clove notes coming in. The wheat and yeast flavor gets dryer and brings dusty earthy notes. Hop flavor and bitterness is light and most noticeable in the finish. The finish is very dry with a smooth, thick, almost powdery texture. Carbonation feels about average and the body is a good solid medium.

Notes: For me I felt that this beer had a few ruff edges but overall was good.

Appearance: Fastidious foaming, nearly uniform bubbled head with a good retention. Hazed leather brown, a few bubbles race to the top here and there.

Smell: Dry malt aroma with a wheat twang. Dried bananas, powdery clove, mild esters, touch medicinal with an earthy yeast is only a quick brushing in the nose.

Taste: Flexed medium body with a mild crispness that draws on a full and smooth mouth feel. The dry malt character is complexly layered with a toasted malt then a pale huskiness and finally and wheat malt twang. Very soft clove, light banana fruitiness and a subdued alcoholic ester barely brake things up. After that dull excitement it is back to the dry malt character but in a really dry way. Even the yeast flavour is placid with a chalky earth flavour.

Notes: A decent dunkel weiss, not as expressive as others but just as nurturing as the rest. The malt is the show it seems, all of the other flavours are meek in comparison but this does not take away from the brew too much because it still has the lovely wheat twang.

Pours a murky, medium brown color. Head is big and billowing, even with a careful pour. The light tan head is big and billowing, even with a careful pour, and lasts forever. Looks like cake icing, in a way, and lacing sheets the glass. Aroma features bananas and some grapefruit, with a solid dose of allspice, and wheat/yeast earthiness. Mouthfeel is very carbonated and a creamy coating is present. Taste is twangy yeast, caramel malt, banana, clove, and a peppery bite. The carbonation remains very active throughout. Hops play only a minor role. I'm not a major fan of this style, and this one seems to be middle of the road compared to the other Dunkel Weisses I've had.

A: murky orange/brown, the color of rust with a very creamy, off-white head.

S: There is a low malty flavor with some bready yeast character. Im getting a big whiff of clove and not a whole bunch else.

T/M: I normally don't combine my taste and mouthfeel reviews but in this case I find it a necessity. This beer, in my opinion, is way overcarbonated. As a result, Im finding it hard to taste much else. There is a sharp burn at the onset of the first sip and it simply increases intensity as you move the beer over your tongue. there is a hint of clove in the background, and a very subtly maltiness. It feels like there is potential there but the overall impression is just a watery taste.

Slow pour produced large 3" head, that slowly dies down. Head is very creamy, with fine bubbles. Color is nice mahogany brown, light haze.

Smell is of malts, slight fruity with large gust of banana. Banana really comes out on palate, but also some nuttiness. This beer is a lot sweeter than what I normally expect, but very good and I think I'll add this one to the ones I normally keep around.

There is a good bit of creaminess to this brew and the bubbles make it quite a pleasant treat. This is very smooth brew and finishes really nice.

Taste: Crisp and lightly sweet toasty wheat , has some standard wheaty tang to it , banana , very nice balance , light spice and hint of clove. Very dry finish with a a bit of yeast aftertaste.

Mouthfeel: light bodied , very dry finish.

Drinkability: A tasty , refreshing , and fairly dry Dunkel Weizen. Nice showing of dark wheat flavors , nice balance , well made. A good choice in its style , espescially if your in the mood for a dry finish.